System and method for utilizing drones for intermittent flights

• US 10,579,059 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2019
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Cantrell, Robert, High, Donald R., McHale, Brian, O'Brien, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q
• Application Number:
  US16/285,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20190265707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 701 2, 701 4, 701 15, 701 16
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/10 Air crafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/362 Installations for supplying conditioned air to parked aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/25 for recharging batteries; for refuelling
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/101 specially adapted for aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/12 Target-seeking control
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors

Abstract

A method for utilizing a drone for intermittent flights can include: receiving instructions of a flight mission with a flight route from an original location to a mission destination of the drone, wherein a plurality of stand-by locations are configured for the drone to land on along the flight route; obtaining data of the stand-by locations; scanning a first area between the original location of the drone and a first stand-by location to determine whether the first area is clear; controlling the drone to navigate over the first area along the flight route if the first area is clear; updating a drone position in real time; scanning a second area between an updated drone position and a second stand-by location to determine whether the second area is clear; and controlling the drone to land on the first stand-by location if the second area is not clear.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a drone comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, comprising:

receiving, by the processor, instructions of a flight mission with a flight route from an original location to a mission destination of the drone, wherein a plurality of stand-by locations are along the flight route, and wherein each of the plurality of stand-by locations is at a pre-designated location and is configured for the drone to land on;

obtaining, by the processor, data of the plurality of the stand-by locations, the data being stored in a database;

scanning, by an onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a first area between the original location of the drone and a first stand-by location to determine whether the first area is clear along the flight route;

controlling, by the processor, the drone to navigate to the first stand-by location over the first area along the flight route if the first area is clear;

updating a drone position in real time;

scanning, by the onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a second area between an updated drone position and a second stand-by location to determine whether the second area is clear along the flight route; and

controlling, by the processor, the drone to land on the first stand-by location if the second area is not clear.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling the drone to continuously navigate to the second stand-by location over the second area along the flight route without a break if the second area is clear.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the drone has an unsymmetrical shape with extensions configured to counterbalance a product carried by the drone, and wherein the drone goes into slots of a stand-by location while the stand-by location does not extend outward.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions of the flight mission further comprise mission destination, a drone original location, package original location, package destination, package weight, package capacity, operational parameters of the drone, flight route, and assigned work.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the assigned work conducted by the drone comprises conducting cycle counting operations using on-board high resolution camera and sensors during a flight and when landing on a stand-by location.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the assigned work conducted by the drone comprises picking up a product from the package original location and delivering the product to the package destination.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each stand-by location is configured to move up and down along a column to accommodate a landing of the drone and to provide a mobile spot with changing heights for the drone to access more shelves to conduct an assigned work.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the stand-by locations are configured to be framed so as to have an ample room for the drone with a carried product, and wherein the stand-by locations are high enough in excess of a threshold height or within a predefined buffer so as to prevent interactions with customers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each stand-by location is configured to provide battery charging and battery swap to the drone.

10. A system comprising:

a central server;

a plurality of stand-by locations;

a plurality of drones, each of the plurality of drones the comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from the central server, instructions of a flight mission with a flight route from an original location to a mission destination of the drone, wherein the plurality of stand-by locations are along the flight route, and wherein each of the plurality of the stand-by locations is at a pre-designated location and is configured for the drone to land on;

obtaining data of the plurality of the stand-by locations, the data being stored in a database;

scanning, by an onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a first area between the original location of the drone and a first stand-by location to determine whether the first area is clear along the flight route;

controlling the drone to navigate to the first stand-by location over the first area along the flight route if the first area is clear;

updating a drone position in real time;

scanning, by the onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a second area between an updated drone position and a second stand-by location to determine whether the second area is clear along the flight route; and

controlling the drone to land on the first stand-by location if the second area is not clear.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise controlling the drone to navigate to the second stand-by location over the second area along the flight route without a break if the second area is clear.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the drone has a unsymmetrical shape with extensions configured to counterbalance a product carried by the drone, and wherein the drone goes into slots of a stand-by location while the stand-by location does not extend outward.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions of the flight mission further comprise mission destination, drone original location, package original location, package destination, package weight, package capacity, operational parameters of the drone, flight route, and assigned work.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the assigned work conducted by the drone comprises conducting cycle counting operations using on-board high resolution camera and sensors during a flight and when landing on a stand-by location.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the assigned work conducted by the drone comprises picking up a product from the package original location and delivering the product to the package destination.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the stand-by location is configured to move up and down along a column to accommodate a landing of the drone and to provide a mobile spot with changing heights for the drone to access more shelves to conduct an assigned work.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the stand-by locations are configured to be framed so as to have an ample room for the drone with a carried product, and wherein the stand-by locations are high enough in excess of a threshold height or within a predefined buffer so as to prevent interactions with customers.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein each stand-by location is configured to provide battery charging and battery swap to the drone.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device comprising a processor, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by the processor, instructions of a flight mission with a flight route from an original location to a mission destination of a drone, wherein a plurality of stand-by locations are along the flight route, and wherein each of the plurality of the stand-by locations is at a pre-designated location and is configured for the drone to land on;

obtaining, by the processor, data of the plurality of the stand-by locations, the data being stored in a database;

scanning, by an onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a first area between the original location of the drone and a first stand-by location to determine whether the first area is clear along the flight route;

controlling, by the processor, the drone to navigate to the first stand-by location over the first area along the flight route if the first area is clear;

updating a drone position in real time;

scanning, by the onboard camera and sensors on the drone, a second area between an updated drone position and a second stand-by location to determine whether the second area is clear along the flight route; and

controlling, by the processor, the drone to land on the first stand-by location if the second area is not clear.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

controlling the drone to continuously navigate to the second stand-by location over the second area along the flight route without a break if the second area is clear.